Some time after a devastating tornado has leveled their town, a group of eclectic, ennui-stricken teenagers in Xenia, Ohio pass their days by riding their bikes, playing practical jokes, sniffing glue and paying for sex with a friend's… MoreSome time after a devastating tornado has leveled their town, a group of eclectic, ennui-stricken teenagers in Xenia, Ohio pass their days by riding their bikes, playing practical jokes, sniffing glue and paying for sex with a friend's sister.

A disjointed, pointless and depressing exercise in nihilism, with Korine just throwing together random scenes to show the filth of the white trash. But all that… MoreA disjointed, pointless and depressing exercise in nihilism, with Korine just throwing together random scenes to show the filth of the white trash. But all that he manages to do is make us feel sick at following the loathsome lives of a bunch of repulsive characters.

Lucas Martins

With the mix of surrealism and realism, Harmony's vision about the "white trash", boring and strange lifes is unique and for me one of the most… MoreWith the mix of surrealism and realism, Harmony's vision about the "white trash", boring and strange lifes is unique and for me one of the most importants American movies from the 90's. Gummo is a disturbing portrait, showing to the audience a great acting by Jacob Reynolds. Fresh.

Coxxie Mild Sauce

This is a film about your neighborhood. If your interests include cats, hay-rides, and Jeffrey Dahmer.

Anthony Lawrie

This is a great little film. It won?t be to everybody?s tastes but it?s a gem, albeit, a grubby one . Harmony Korine is an underappreciated genius!

Greg S

A largely plotless, impressionistic and depressing tour of the hopeless white trash residents of Xenia, OH. A lot like what would result if someone took home… MoreA largely plotless, impressionistic and depressing tour of the hopeless white trash residents of Xenia, OH. A lot like what would result if someone took home videos of that embarassing welfare-addicted branch of the family no one likes to talk about and mixed them in a blender with experimental shorts from film school; it's sometimes interesting, more frequently incoherent and annoying.

Bruce Bruce

A Very Sick and dirty movie. 1/2 star

Conner Rainwater

There is so much said about human behavior in this film that has never been able to be captured before. Some might call it nihilistic or dumb, but it depicts a… MoreThere is so much said about human behavior in this film that has never been able to be captured before. Some might call it nihilistic or dumb, but it depicts a reality that is hauntingly real. It might be way too much of a reality check for some, to see the true disgustingly beautiful world we live in. You can just see how much time and energy was poured into this movie to get a simple message across: We're not perfect. The tone is almost set like a horror, which it really kind've is. The acting was actually really amazing for the look they were going for and was probably the most effective aspect of the film. Years and years of warped generations can be seen so easily and that makes it all the more disturbing.

Rubia Carolina

How can American society be so stupid and degradated?
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The movie itself is not bad, the first scene is "artistic… MoreHow can American society be so stupid and degradated?
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The movie itself is not bad, the first scene is "artistic cool", but itīs nothing but a waste of time.
Another independent American film. Another movie to shock. Chloe Sevigny and her typical roles.
*Iīm not missing the whole point as some people can say. I am only tired of these "innovative, rare, amazing" films.

Jack Hawkins

'Gummo' is a very strange little film. Its documentary realism is rather captivating, the bizarre people we see appear to be completely real.… More'Gummo' is a very strange little film. Its documentary realism is rather captivating, the bizarre people we see appear to be completely real.
There's no plot to speak of, its just an insight into underclass America. The filthy circumstances these people live in will make you cringe, as will their moronic forms of socialising, which includes cheered-on chair smashing.
The film is certainly laced with pretension, and there are pointless scenes that just reek of 'art-house'. I can understand why some people wouldn't like it; it's non-linear, quirky narrative is very likely to polarise audiences. However, I found the veritable aberrance of the film undeniably interesting.
While 'Gummo' isn't that good, its candid realism makes its uneventful narrative quite engrossing; it may well be the most peculiar film you ever see.

Unknown Hobo

Now don't get me wrong, I love movies that make no sense and Gummo certainly fits that criteria but I found it was so absurd at times that it even lost its… MoreNow don't get me wrong, I love movies that make no sense and Gummo certainly fits that criteria but I found it was so absurd at times that it even lost its confusion flavour. It made me laugh, it disgusted me in certain parts and it certainly had me uttering "wtf" under my breath, but it didn't make me think as all good disorientation movies should. I still do not understand why it has achieved such cult success and would warrant that Korine be lost in the wastelands of failed directors, because this movie was nothing but regurgitated trash.

William Dunmyer

"Gummo" is a disturbing and completely unique work of art by one of the few cinematic geniuses of our time, Harmony Korine. After exploding onto the… More"Gummo" is a disturbing and completely unique work of art by one of the few cinematic geniuses of our time, Harmony Korine. After exploding onto the film scene with his screenplay for "Kids" (written when he was only 22), Korine made his directorial debut two years later with "Gummo," an impressionistic film based on what Korine saw while living in an Appalachia-like small town in the backwoods of Ohio. Apparently he saw a lot there that horrified him, and he brings that horror to you in the most raw, unfiltered way possible.
Throughout the film, I found myself saying, "Harmony Korine is the poet of chaos." There's never been anyone like him, and I suspect there never will be another.
"Gummo" contains a lot of what appears to be documentary footage taken in and around the town of Xenia, Ohio. Interspersed with this are scenes with actors who play the townsfolk. In most cases, Korine appears to use non-professional actors, plus Chloe Sevigny, who has a small but indelible part. Sevigny at the time had not yet become an established actress, having just appeared in "Kids," her debut film. Now of course she's gone onto major acting roles, such as on HBO's "Big Love." For "Gummo," she dyed her hair and eyebrows platinum blonde, and the effect is mesmerizing and frightening. Also unforgettable is the scene where she appears topless with black electrical tape on her nipples, a la Wendy O. Williams.
But the film is mostly focused on the troubled boys of the town, who go around torturing cats and each other. Korine trains his freakshow gaze also on the many people of the town who are semi-retarded. It becomes hard to define retarded (by which I mean mentally disabled in the clinical sense) when so many of the intellectually normal townspeople appear to have chosen to remain at the mental level of a retarded person. Korine appears to be very interested in this social phenomenon, as I have been in my own life. I call it the bizarre phenomenon of voluntary retardation.
Korine blurs the line between the clinically and voluntarily retarded in a disturbing way by including some footage of disabled people. Especially shocking is the footage of a woman who appears to have Down Syndrome playing a garishly made-up prostitute who is pimped out to the local teenage boys by her brother. That is the one scene in the film that brought tears to my eyes.
Anyone from a lower-class background (such as I) will recognize many of the faces and imagery here. Finally an artist has come along who stares into the face of lower-class horror and doesn't look away.
There are substantial weaknesses in the film, however, particularly in the direction of the boys who play the biggest roles. First is the young boy with the weird hairdo who is pictured in the movie poster; the other is his older sidekick. These inseparable boys are played by semi-trained actors who appear to have no idea what they are doing or what the film is trying to say. They walk around awkwardly, seemingly saying to themselves, "Why does this wacky director force me to wear this ridiculous hairdo?" Nothing they do seems authentic. Either Korine intentionally worked this awkwardness into the film for a distancing effect, to archly differentiate it from the more documentary-like footage, or he just did not know what he was doing with these actors. I tend to think it was the latter.
Also problematic is Korine's relentlessly negative view. As troubled as the under-class is, it is not 100% screwed up. Korine's view is so skewed toward the negative that at times it seems polemical and limited. In my mind, the hallmark of a great artist is a holistic view. Korine may be capable of that, but he does not exhibit it here. (He does exhibit it in his 2008 near-masterpiece "Mister Lonely," where he has the guts to show love.)
There is no doubt, though, that "Gummo" more brilliantly captures the horrific aspects of the impoverished rural under-class than anything that ever came before it. Highly recommended for fans of true art who have a strong stomach for nihilism.

Luke Baldock

A pointless, depressing and vile piece of crap. There are no characters to feel anything for, other than hate. The film is just tasteless in a very tacky way,… MoreA pointless, depressing and vile piece of crap. There are no characters to feel anything for, other than hate. The film is just tasteless in a very tacky way, but it seems to think it is saying something. There's no plot, there's no relevance. It's a string of random scenes, where everybody acts weird to disguise just how bad the film is. Korine completely misses the mark with this arrogant and annoying film.